The objective of WG2 is the generation of reference values for mitochondrial respirometry in permeabilized skeletal muscle sample preparations. The idea is that new researchers in the field follow a reference protocol and check if their values are in an acceptable range. This approach could serve to test researchers’ technical skills and therefore determine if they are proficient enough to perform their own experiments with confidence.

We initially ran a pilot study including 7 European groups. The results obtained show, as we expected, low variability among laboratories. After some adjustments and identifying some relevant steps that need to be carefully taken into consideration, the approach and results were judged satisfactory. Therefore, last spring the invitation was open to all laboratories worldwide. The final aim is to collect all the data and write a manuscript by 2019.

All research groups involved obtained respirometry reference values in permeabilized soleus fibers from males (N=4) and females (N=4) C57BL/6J mice aged 14-16 weeks. The substrate-uncoupler-inhibitor titration (SUIT) protocol used in the study is represented in Figure 1 [1]. The presentation will give detailed information on the experimental procedures followed to fulfill our objective. Finally, we will present and discuss our preliminary data, including recent results from other 8 international laboratories that have already performed the experiments. This presentation should set the stage to initiate a discussion and define future actions of the Working Group 2.